Fanboy Movie Review #12 — Avengers: Infinity War

[Note: I do not consider myself a movie critic. What follows is just one fanboy’s opinion based off of a singledoubletriple viewing of the film. Oh, and there are SPOILERS ahead, so take heed.]

[No, really…I’m spoiling everything here. If you haven’t seen the movie, do not read this.]

Since November, I’ve had to take a break from this blog. I’ve had so many ideas, and even a few posts mostly fleshed out, but none that really gelled. I wanted to share my thoughts on The Last Jedi, Pacific Rim: Uprising and Black Panther. I’ll get to those in an abbreviated way soon, which is why we’ve skipped ahead to number twelve in our listing.

This is going to end in tears, isn’t it?

In any case, let’s talk about this magnificent supernova of heroism and sadness we call Avengers: Infinity War. Let’s do this.

First Impressions: This is the culmination of 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one of the most (arguably the most) ambitious movie continuities to date. It all started with the original Iron Man. And while some of the MCU’s offerings haven’t been as strong as others, all of them have been entertaining. Since it all connects here, you could characterize my initial stance on this film as: “By the great beard of Odin, and the dark glasses of Stan Lee, please don’t let this suck!” A surprise to no one, I loved this movie, even if it made some deep cuts that will not fully heal until this time next year, and maybe not even then.

“Let her go, Grimace.”

What I LIKED:

THANOS! I was a little concerned that he would be yet another CGI villain. Nope, I understand where he’s coming from even if I don’t agree with him. In many ways, Infinity War is his story. He acts and behaves accordingly, he passes all of my rules of villainy, and walks perhaps a darker version of Campbell’s hero’s journey. Even the credits say that “Thanos will return in Avengers 4.” I think he stands up there with Loki, Killmonger, and Alexander Pierce as one of the best antagonists in the MCU. Also this is some of the best digitally rendered acting I’ve ever seen. Josh Brolin is brilliant in bringing the Mad Titan to life.

The Scope of the Story – There is a lot going on in this film. Thanos starts out with one Infinity Stone and gains the other five in one film. If that weren’t enough, the Avengers reassemble under Cap’s banner, Thor gets a new hammer (and eye), Bucky gets a new arm, Wanda and Vision get together, and then quite literally break up. I think under any other directors it would have been too much, but the Russo Brothers balance it all quite nicely with drama, humor, and some of the best action sequences we’ve seen thus far. So many of my favorite characters in place, teaming up, fighting together, or exchanging barbed quips with each other, is just glorious. Which leads me to my next point.

Whoah…

Not Everyone Gets Along – I like that Doctor Strange and Tony Stark don’t get along. They are both too alike, and used to being the smartest ‘go-to’ guy in the room. While they figure it out before their throw-down with Thanos, it was refreshing to see them grate on one another when their goals collide.

The Humor – I know I dinged Thor: Ragnarok a bit for this, but the gravitas of this story needed a little lightening up. Drax, Rocket, Bruce Banner, even Thor and Iron Man, and so many others. Even little moments like Rhodie punking Banner to bow before T’Challa. All nicely done. I never felt that the humor overpowered the moment, or undercut the drama.

“Dude, you’re embarrassing me in front of the wizards.”

The Performances – The heroes faced some difficult choices. Seeing Star-Lord struggle to pull the trigger on Gamora, and her reactions. Same thing with Vision and Wanda in the final moments before the “Snapture.” (No, I cannot claim credit for that one.) The determination on Cap’s face as he struggles against Thanos’ might. The quiet defeat and anguish of Tony Stark in the aftermath of seeing Spider-Man crumble to dust in front of him. Loki’s final moments. I sometimes wonder if we realize how lucky we are to have this level of talent on the screen, portraying these characters.

The Soundtrack – Composed by the always great Alan Silvestri. I’m listening to it as I write this, and it’s breaking my heart all over again.

STORMBREAKER – Man, Thor gets quite an upgrade thanks to the timely appearance of a gigantic Peter Dinklage. I’m a big fan of Beta-Ray Bill in the comics, so it’s interesting to see his weapon become the Asgardian Kingsblade. And with an extra assist to Teenage Groot, who put down his Defender hand-held to really step up.

Wakanda – Even if we don’t get to see much of it, I’m glad we got to go back there so soon after Black Panther. Okoye, M’baku, and the ever-charming Shuri. Wakanda Forever! *crosses arms in an X*

YAAAAS!

The Black Order – They were all worthy opponents to our beloved heroes. And even though they were all CGI, there were moments where I truly felt they were real. Special props to the Ebony Maw for being such a powerful threat and for such wonderful physicality. “Rejoice, for even in death, you have all become children of Thanos.”

Return of the Red Skull – Last but not least, we find out where Johann Schmidt landed after being teleported away by the Tesseract. I don’t know if he’ll ever return, but I wonder if his experiences as guardian of the Soul Stone have changed his perceptions of the world.

“Rejoice, for even in the death you have become the Children of Thanos.”

What I DIDN’T Like:

[Just a note—this section is both the things that hurt a lot (but that I think were still great parts of the movie) as well as the things that I didn’t care for. So, it’s not all bad here.]

Thanos’ Plan – Halving the population of the universe instantly would wind up killing more than just half, and more technologically advanced cultures would be hurt worse. Almost certainly millions or billions more would die due to accidents, or just critical systems being left suddenly unattended. Consider that on Earth, the population in the year 1900 was approximately 1.6 billion. One-hundred and eighteen years later, we are at 7.3 billion. Even if we went down to 3.65 billion, we would be back up to our current levels or beyond in a (relatively) short while. So Thanos is going to commit an unimaginable atrocity to buy us, what, 50-100 years? The more you drill down into his plan, the less sense it makes. HOWEVER, he is the “Mad Titan”, and even if no one wants the Snapture to happen but him, Thanos absolutely believes it is the morally right thing to do. That much is clear.

“Yeah, not a great plan.”

Seeing the Heroes Lose – In Civil War, we saw Tony lose to Cap in that Siberian Hydra base. I thought that was difficult. Seeing the Avengers fight so valiantly only to fail to stop Thanos really stings. Steve settling to the ground and saying, “Oh God.” Yeah, he’s realizing that they just lost. Ouch.

Star-Lord Jumping The Gun – I realize that Thanos was destined to beat the heroes, but I hate it when heroes are self-defeating. Star-Lord sabotages the group on Titan at the worst possible moment. This, after he stopped Drax from a similar situation of letting a need for revenge cloud his judgment. I know that foolishly acting out of emotion is Star-Lord’s thing, but why not try to get the Gauntlet off first and THEN kick Thanos’ purple butt?

Heimdall’s Choice – Okay, thought experiment for you: You’re an Asgardian, you’re severely wounded, and you have just enough power to summon the Bifrost one last time. You can only save one person, and you know it shouldn’t be you. Should your final, heroic act be to save the life of your king, who has long been the champion of Agard, the God of Trickery, or a big green guy you’ve only recently met and barely know? There’s no logic to Heimdall saving the Hulk over Thor, save for functionally getting the Hulk to Earth early in the story. It seems more than a little inelegant and out of character.

Dude…srsly?

Non ‘Snap’ Deaths – So, Heimdall, Loki, and Gamora. I think the first two are gone, even if our heroes undo what Thanos did. I think Gamora will be back, though I suspect someone may have to take her place in the Soul Stone if that’s how she returns. Still, seeing these three deaths was harsh.

A Year’s Wait – Infinity War is the first two-parter in the MCU. The way it leaves off, with the heroes defeated, demoralized, and in disarray, it’s going to be a looooooong wait until May of next year. And that leads me to my last point.

Contract Negotiation Time – I hope that the Infinity Survivors are able to restore the universe to a pre-snap condition. But with Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, and Robert Downey Jr. potentially leaving the MCU after the next film, I don’t look forward to seeing Cap, Thor, or Iron Man go down permanently. Let’s hope we get the characters retiring without dying, like Thor refounding Asgard, Stark becoming a father, and Steve passing the mantle of Captain America on to someone else, though right now his two successors are dust in the wind, dude.

“I’m sorry, Earth is closed today.”

Unresolved Questions (At This Point):

The biggest question, for me, is how do the Avengers undo the Snapture? And if they are able to bring people back, do all of them who turned to dust come back, or only some? What would a Spider-Man movie look like without Peter Parker? Are we talking Miles Morales? Same thing with Black Panther (Shuri?), and the Guardians of the Galaxy, who lost everyone except Rocket and I guess Nebula.

If the heroes bring the dusted back, are they also able to bring back Gamora, Loki, or Heimdall? Did Loki really die? It certainly seemed legit this time around, but Loki is the God of Trickery, so perhaps we shouldn’t count him out entirely. Did Doctor Strange have a plan? He certainly seemed to do an about-face on his duty to protect the Time Stone, and with the only stipulation that Thanos spare Tony Stark. Does that make Tony the turning point in the next film?

And what is the friggin’ NAME of the next Avengers film, already?! The Russo Brothers have said the name of the next movie is a kind of spoiler in and of itself. What is the ultimate fate of Thanos? Of the Infinity Stones? Will Adam Warlock burst out of this golden chrysalis on Sovereign and swoop in at the end? What will a post-Avengers 4 MCU look like?

The Butcher’s Bill:

Since we lost so many characters in one movie (sixteen on-screen deaths), and there is so much to take in, here are the final statuses of our heroes when the credits roll.

First, the fallen:

– Heimdall

– Loki

– Gamora

– Vision

– Bucky

– Falcon

– Groot

– Scarlet Witch

– Black Panther

– Mantis

– Drax

– Star-Lord

– Spider-Man

– Doctor Strange

– Agent Maria Hill

– Director Nick Fury

Who’s left to fight:

[We know these characters survive the Snapture.]

– Iron Man (On Titan)

– Nebula (Also on Titan)

– Captain America

– Thor

– Bruce Banner

– Okoye

– M’Baku

– Black Widow

– Warmachine

– Rocket

[The ones we don’t see dusted, who could still be alive.]

– Shuri

– Pepper Potts

– Wong

– Ned

[The ones we don’t see at all, who could be potential reinforcements in the next movie.]

– Captain Marvel

– Ant-Man

– Wasp

– Hawkeye

– Lady Sif

– Valkyrie

– Korg & Miek

– Stakar Ogord’s (Sylvester Stallone’s) Ravager Crew

– Adam Warlock

“I’ve lived by life by those sentiments. They’re worth dying for.”

Conclusions:

Holy crap! On so many levels—HOLY CRAP! I went in with mid-level expectations since I didn’t want to buy into the hype and be disappointed. As with many movies that I care about, I just didn’t want it to suck. Not only did Avengers 3 not suck, I was blown away by it. The scope of it, the action sequences, the humor, all the character moments, Alan Silvestri’s score, the pain and loss—wow. Even with the metacontextual knowledge that T’Challa and Peter Parker will almost certainly be back in time for their sequels, the ending hit hard.

Infinity War is a major jewel in the MCU’s crown, standing up there with Winter Soldier and the first Avengers, and it’s going to be a long, long wait until May of next year.